[LL] Leadership Lesson: Prioritize and Execute – Or Risk Drowning in the Sand
Leaders! 🙌
If everything is a priority, nothing is.
Last week, we covered Jocko Willink’s second leadership law: Keep it Simple. This week, we unpack the third law—Prioritize and Execute.
I reinforced this with Jocko’s world-famous “GOOD” video. No matter the adversity, a strong leader reframes it and says: Good. Let’s go.
But reframing isn’t enough.
Once chaos hits—and it will—you must be able to sift through the noise and decide what matters most.
That’s why in our EOS leadership system, we don’t try to fix everything every quarter. We choose 3-5 Rocks.
Why? Because Rocks move the business. Pebbles are nice-to-haves. Sand is noise.
Steven Covey illustrated this brilliantly: If you fill a jar with sand first, the rocks won’t fit. But if you place the rocks in first, everything else settles around them.
Your time. Your team’s energy. Your budget.
It’s the same jar—but only when the main thing stays the main thing do you move the mission forward.
So here’s your takeaway:
Leadership isn’t about managing chaos. It’s about controlling it.
Set the rocks.
Clarify the targets.
Then execute relentlessly.
That’s Jocko’s third law.
Prioritize.
Execute.
Repeat.
Do this, and you don’t just lead—you win.
Bryce Henson
CEO & Visionary
P.S. Next week, we’ll wrap the series with Jocko’s final leadership principle—and it might just be the hardest one to master.
The 5 Immutable Rules of Leadership
- Take Extreme Ownership: Everything is your responsibility—even when it’s not your fault.
- Put Your Oxygen Mask On First: Lead yourself before leading others.
- Wield Influence Through Moral Authority: People follow who you are, not what you say.
- It’s Not About You—Never Was, Never Will Be: Elevate others, build legacy.
- Turn Adversity Into Advantage: Pain is your power—use it.